Nasal carriage of Staphyloccus aureus among students in Kano Nigeria

Abstract

One hundred nasal swabs collected from 60 (60%) males and 40 (40%) females’ students of Kano State institutions were examined for Staphylococcus aureus using blood agar, mannitol salt agar and Macconkey agar. Thirty nine (39%) of the 100 students were found to carry Staphylococcus aureus in their nasal cavity. Out of the 39 positive cases, 24 (61.5%) were males while 15 (38.5%) were females. The students in the age range of 17 – 20 years accounted for a greater percentage of carriage of 57.5% and 53.3% for the male and female populations, respectively. Results show that while sex was not a notable factor in Staphylococcus aureus carriage, age was (p≤ 0.05).